


xxviii. post tragedy

by icymapletree



Series: febuwhump/febufluff 2020 [18]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Febuwhump, Gen, Parent Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22965919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icymapletree/pseuds/icymapletree
Summary: Bucky turns his face to look at Steve, who is stoic and unmoving. “Steve?” he whispers, lips nearly brushing the other man’s ear,  “why is there a child here?”“That’s Tony’s kid,” he responds with a rough voice, his gaze not leaving the three ironclad heros.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: febuwhump/febufluff 2020 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618837
Comments: 46
Kudos: 346





	xxviii. post tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> i will start to add in the febuwhump prompts that i missed as i finish them! i hope it won't get annoying but i shouldn't finish more than one a day lol

The inside of the quinjet smells like death, it’s sinister and metallic. It’s the euphoria of winning and the possibility of losing one of their best that has everyone leaning toward their friends.

Pepper cradles Peter’s head as his violent cries rip through the heavy air. She isn’t crying much herself, the only evidence of distress being sparse sniffles and the silent tears wiping away the dirt on her cheeks.

Peter’s curly hair is matted down with blood and grime, with a bruise blossoming around his eye. Dust is smeared all over his face and suit.

Pepper had coerced him into letting the mask down about halfway into their flight, whispering reassurances that it’s okay, everyone here knows what you’re going through.

Even if it’s helping Peter, it makes it so much harder to listen to-- the cries that were muffled by a layer of nanotech are now echoing around them.

It’s slowly tearing Bucky’s heart apart.

He turns his face to look at Steve, who is stoic and unmoving. “Steve?” he whispers, lips nearly brushing the other man’s ear, “why is there a child here?”

“That’s Tony’s kid,” he responds with a rough voice, his gaze not leaving the three ironclad heros.

Rhodey is there too, on the other side of Peter. He’s not as clearly as distraught as the boy, and not visibly upset like Pepper. He’s eerily still, like he can’t believe what’s happening.

“How old is the kid?” Bucky asks.

“Sixteen.”

He can’t help it, he looks back towards the boy. It feels wrong to witness his grieving, and to notice the way that Peter’s hands are knotted in Pepper’s sweatshirt. This is supposed to be a private moment-- they’re mourning a father, a husband, a best friend. 

Even if Tony isn’t officially dead yet, he will definitely lose his arm. It’s uncertain whether or not Tony will live - but if they’re not grieving _him_ they’re grieving their life from before.

“Please,” Peter chokes, “please, please, please.”

He’s said it so many times that it doesn’t seem like a word anymore.

It’s at this point that Bucky puts two and two together. “Is that Spider-Man?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, his eyes darting down to his lap, “and he can probably hear us, Buck.”

Bucky’s eyes widen. Their words have been as soft as a feather, there’s no way that someone sobbing like that could hear them. Unless Steve is hinting at something more. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”

Steve’s head hangs low.

“He’s like us?”

“He’s _better_ than all of us… but enhanced, yes.”

“So it’s not the suit?”

“No, it’s not.”

At the airport, Bucky could’ve sworn that it was the suit that caused all of those fantastical abilities. But then again, Bucky could’ve also sworn that the hero that they were fighting was at least an adult.

“Sixteen,” Bucky breathes, “I can’t believe it.”

“You could’ve fought in the war when you were sixteen.”

“That was a necessity.”

Steve gives him a sideways glance. “One could argue that this was a necessity, too.”

“But Steve, he’s literally _just a kid._ ”

Being able to fight in a war doesn’t change the fact that he still hasn’t finished high school. He needs to go to school dances, have a good time while he’s young-- and not worry about things like intergalactic space titans.

“He’s powerful, though. He carried the gauntlet.”

Bucky combs his hair back with his fingers. “Being powerful doesn’t change that he’s still a kid, Steve.”

“I agree.”

He takes another glance at the boy before resolving to stop looking. “You said he’s Stark’s kid. Stark is his father?”

Oh god. Not only has the kid fought in a war, Bucky might’ve killed the kid’s grandparents--

“Not as far as we can tell. Tony was _like_ a father to him, but Natasha’s been pretty secretive about his information. He’s been wiped off of a lot of records.”

Bucky’s curiosity gets the better of him, he finds himself looking at the kid again. Before, it never struck him how young he looks and sounds, with his big doe eyes and lanky limbs. He and Steve were that young once, being shipped off to war and returning with irreparable damages. Still, there’s something different about being an adult looking in.

“Where are his parents?”

“I don’t know, Buck… but I don’t think that they’re around anymore.”

Bucky sighs, running his fingers through his hair. His stomach slowly rises up into his throat as the jet begins its descent. Everyone on the quinjet is giving Tony’s family some semblance of privacy, being quiet and twiddling their thumbs while they grieve themselves. 

Bruce is especially quiet, he can’t stop looking at his shriveled arm. He grimaces every once in awhile, tilting his head back and blinking the tears away. Sam sits next to him, just staring straight ahead. 

This is supposed to be a happy day, a time to celebrate the return of the decimated. But even Scott, who’s as excitable as a golden retriever puppy, hangs his head low.

They’d all kneeled down on the field, and it seemed that it wasn’t Thanos that is inevitable, rather losing the two best fighters that the Avengers had ever had. For Tony and Nat, their reputations weren’t squeaky clean in the beginning, they worked to be the best that they could be. The world always takes away the ones who deserve to live the most.

The landing is gentle, nothing like the turmoil inside of the quinjet. Pepper and Rhodey walk out first, guiding Peter with gentle hands.

The Wakandan landscape is gorgeous, a tauntingly beautiful backdrop for such a terrible experience. They all have hope that Tony will make it out of surgery alive, but everyone is none the wiser. 

Bucky walks out onto the landing pad and breathes in the air of the place that he has come to call home. He wishes that his return wasn’t under such circumstances, but Wakanda is the best place that Tony could be operated on. 

They all pile into the waiting room, still giving Tony’s family as much privacy as possible. They’re all grieving here, even if Tony isn’t officially dead yet, but it’s got to hurt the most for them.

Bucky sits next to Steve like always, leaning his head against the man’s shoulder. The lights are bright and hurt Bucky’s eyes, the entire atmosphere feels sharp.

“What’s the kid’s name?” Bucky asks quietly after some time, wanting to have a name to put to the face. A name would make his tragedy so much more _real_ , but the kid is a real person with a name and a backstory.

“Peter,” Steve says quietly, “Peter Parker.”

Bucky nods to himself, and the rest of the wait is considerably more painful than before. That’s Peter, _Peter_ is crying. Peter’s sobs are harsh and cut through the already sharp air. Pepper and Rhodey have - surprisingly - held it together, rubbing circles into Peter’s back.

Tony and Bucky aren’t even on good terms, but he finds himself sitting on the edge of his seat, feeling an extreme need to apologize if Tony makes it out of surgery.

The painful quiet is starting to affect Steve now. He jiggles his leg, twiddles his thumbs in order to do anything to pass the painful time. 

Eventually, Peter stops crying, and the silence hurts more than the sobs. Time goes by even though a watch pot never boils, but there is still no news on Tony. 

When a doctor comes out into the waiting room, Bucky feels his heart drop. 

“Can I see the family of Tony Stark, please?”

Pepper and Rhodey stand up and wave for Peter to follow. They dissapear out into the hallway, and everyone in the waiting room holds their breath, hoping, _praying_ \--

A wretched cry from Peter is all they need to answer all of their questions.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! come talk to me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/icymapletree)


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